Dazn, a half revolution that disappoints users

That promise from Dazn was a revolution. Streaming should have brought Serie A football everywhere, on every PC, smartphone and smart TV, with good quality and at an affordable price. And it should have quickly made people forget the long season of Sky satellite domination. But the revolution was half successful. Or, at least, it has had to deal with various setbacks, signal holes, technical problems and widespread criticisms, and with a revision of the costs and methods of access for users that risk cracking the painstakingly built relationship of trust. in the first year. Today’s news is the extra ten euros per month needed to have a standard subscription and the 20 euros more for the plus subscription, the only possible option for multiple use that is not linked to the same internet network. The reaction of users, entrusted to outbursts via social media, does not bode well. And it confirms the difficulties, which are industrial, marketing and communication at the same time, shown in the course of last season. different devices. The avalanche of protests from customers and the call, with a request for clarification, by the Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti suggested giving up. On that occasion, the company made two mistakes together: one substantial, with the modification of an existing contract, and the other formal, with the choice of leaking an indiscretion and then, given the reactions, take the only decision available. Even then, the words used in the official communication to ‘justify’ the attempt actually suggested that the operation had been built to bring the issue to everyone’s attention and, in fact, ‘prepare’ the change which, timely, is arrived this year. That step back did not resolve, and indeed fueled, doubts about a difficult management of the relationship between Dazn and its customers. First the bad start, with technical problems so serious as to make the service offered unusable. Then the controversy over the measurement of audiences and the battle with the Lega Calcio, also on the actual share of the population reached by the service. Relevant numbers both in the relationship with the sponsors and with the Serie A clubs. The findings of Agcom arrived, which asked for guarantees on the quality of the broadcast, the creation of a call center with individuals, and the measurement of the audience through a Jic (Joint industry committee, such as Auditel or Audiweb). The company responded by sending a preliminary proposal of commitments to the Authority led by Giacomo Lasorella, focusing above all on the findings regarding the ease and transparency in relations with consumers and the proper functioning of the service. Another thorny chapter is the relationship with Tim. Football was not for the fiber what the former CEO of the telephone company, Luigi Gubitosi, imagined, who paid the bill for an agreement for the exclusive TimVision of the Dazn app obviously too optimistic. Tim’s new guide, Pietro Labriola, has done ‘cleanup’, with a provision in the budget of 548 million. Now Tim and Dazn are at the table of a complicated negotiation to review the contractual conditions with the aim of reaching an agreement by the summer, all steps of a revolution that is still struggling to become a reality. (By Fabio Insenga)